Tips on introducing a new cat to my current cat?

[scottyrae]

I've had a male tuxedo cat since being a kitten, he's now just turned 1 year old & his name is Neo
I decided to get another male tuxedo cat as a friend was giving him away, i just brought him home yesterday, He's only 10 months old.

So i'm just looking for people with experience in this area,
What's the best way to help them get along.

For the 1st day the new cat was here,
I kept him in a seperate room in the house with his own food/water bowl & litter tray.
I went in to check on him this morning & he was waiting at behind the door.
He seemed eager to get out the room & meet my current cat.
As did Neo, he was crying outside the door.
So i let the new cat out.

Neo seems to be just wanting to meet & play with the new cat,
The new cat seems very cautious,
I've got them in the living room with me just now,
It's been about an hour & there's no actual 'fighting' or aggressive behavior from the both of them.
Just the odd hiss from the new cat and (as I'm told) normal behavior of puffing up his hair.

It's quite strange, Neo's never seen another cat since being born & in the litter, plus he's 2 months older than the new cat.
The new cat was in an environment where there were multiple other cats.

Should i keep them in the same room to get to know each other?

Maybe the new cat, with a bit of patience... will eventually accept Neo?

[pamela81]

hey there, i introduced my male cat to a new female about 6months after i got him. The only time for the first few weeks i let them meet each other was when i was in. always seperated them when i went out as my male cat wasnt too pleased having a new cat around the house. They soon got used to each other though and are now fine together apart from the odd spat. Loads of people will have lots of great ideas as to ways that have worked with their own cats

[Elaine]

Thats a really good start, many are not so lucky.
Personally I'd say not to leave them on their own for the first week or so, put new cat back into his room if you are going out. In my experience male cats seem to be much more accepting than the females.
I would also suggest scent swapping, swapping bedding around, rub one cat with a soft cloth and the the other with the same cloth. Feeding at a distance then gradually taking the feeding bowls closer and closer.
But it sounds like they will be ok given a little time. All the very best to you all. xxx

[scottyrae]

Thanks

Sounds like a good plan
Letting them near each other when I'm in, so at least I'm there to step to stop them incase they do fight, i really don't see it getting to that point though.

Neo's acting like a dog when it meets a new dog in the park, all happy, bouncy & wanting to play.
Understandably the other cat isn't very sure of him just yet.

I think it will work out

I'll swap scent's around each night, they're pretty close (distance-wise) already.

Here's a picture of them...

[daisy84]

Hi, everybody!
I have decided to share my experience with introducing the new cat to the old one. It was a few years ago, right now I have only Lestat, male domestic cat. Lestat is my first cat, part of our family for almost 10 years and a few years ago I decided to help a friend of mine and took one of her six new born kitties.
As I expected Lestat didn't like the other male cat, called Mozes and I thought that I should show them that I love both of them equally, so I started buying them the same cat beds, the same litter boxes, etc in order to cease hissing and growling. Cat beds were so sweet and comfort just like this one, and it seemed that both of them loved the beds, but just couldn't use only their own but always tried to lie in each others bed. I suppose that was the way for both Lestat and Mozes to tell me: "I am the master in this house, I have the right to use everything in it!".
After all they did not start getting on well and I was forced to give away Mozes to my friend and that was the best decision for all of us.
May be I didn't help much but at least told you what didn't help us.

I wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

[Gabor]

Hi Scottyrae,

I hope your problem sorted by now, but this may help others with the same problem.

Cats can protect their territory from new comers and they may don't like to share the same place with other cat or pet. They may even urinate furniture, floor what they did not do before to mark their place, or fight for it. Some cats are more friendly as others and can accept other cats, animals easy. I think it's also has to do with age and how use to see, meet other animals, but as yours less then 2 years old, should not be a problem.

To make it easier to meet, you can introduce their smell to each others first hand, before they meet each other. You can put their bed sheet into their other's room, so they can get familiar with the other's smell.

You can get two cat toys on one string, I recommend the favorite of your current cat, and find another toy for the newcomer what he/she most interested in. Tie them on bot end of one string, make sure it's long enough and place the string under the door which separates the cats, so each has his toy, but connected to the other one. Start play with it with one kitten for a while, then go to the other side of the door, engage the other cat into the game and let see how they get along. I recommend you stay there just to see they don't get aggressive by the other cat's presence. If it's a problem just remove the toy and try to get them close by feeding.

You can place their food and water closer to each side of the door. Keep distance at first place, and move them closer to the door by days. Not the litter please. If a cat feels distracted, may go on toilet somewhere else you don't want, instead of using their litter.

All the best making new friends for your fury friend and I wish you all Cat lovers Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Gabor